tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post116111989441002896..comments2015-03-31T13:35:09.158-05:00Comments on Althouse: Four legal stories.Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-81713886346794733092009-07-04T04:24:50.781-05:002009-07-04T04:24:50.781-05:00the great thing about number 4 is, i know who it i...the great thing about number 4 is, i know who it is IRL :D ahaha MY FRIENDS MUMChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941026463424914180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161231028934763622006-10-18T23:10:00.000-05:002006-10-18T23:10:00.000-05:00"Malawi is the second poorest country in the world..."Malawi is the second poorest country in the world. Their problems are a lot worse than ours."--Christopher Althouse Cohen<BR/><BR/>(OK, then our problems oughta be a cinch to solve, by now.) <BR/><BR/>"...denounce those who try help developing nations."---Christopher Althouse Cohen<BR/><BR/>(Um, no I denounce those who engage in shameless self-promotion and ridiculous publicity stunts) <BR/><BR/>"... who are you to trash those who put their efforts into aiding parts of Africa?"---Christopher Althouse Cohen<BR/><BR/>Again, I'm not trashing anyone, I'm simply pointing out that another morally bankrupt celebrity has engaged in a sick and depraved, self-serving scheme to pump up her record sales while simultaneously keeping her name in print.<BR/><BR/>And even if I were trashing her, who better? I'm a member of the Public, she's a Public Figure. Public Figures are meant to be trashed. That's what we, the Public, do.<BR/><BR/>Christopher, who should be allowed to trash celebrities?<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile there's plenty of poor little brown-skinned babies in the good 'ol USA that are ready for her to adopt.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>Peace, MaxineMaxine Weisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18164122931399241972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161228541165982372006-10-18T22:29:00.000-05:002006-10-18T22:29:00.000-05:00Rev- I'm not going to look at the picture you so k...<I>Rev- I'm not going to look at the picture you so kindly posted a link to</I><BR/><BR/>Then I don't give a rat's ass what your opinion of it is, as you are by your own admission uninterested in actually knowing what the heck you're talking about.<BR/><BR/><I>The question is--If you stood up in court during an adoption proceeding and presented evidence that a potential mother had been photographed performing as many bizarre, creepy, depraved, and, yes, blasphemous acts as Madonna, would any U.S. judge give her custody of a child? </I><BR/><BR/>If the person testifying that the acts were bizarre, creepy, depraced, and blasphemous admitted to not actually having witnessed any of the acts in question? You betcha. :)<BR/><BR/>And by the way, any judge who denies someone an adoption the the grounds of blasphemy is deserving of impeachment and criminal prosecution. This isn't Iran.Revenanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16969961611507743330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161218606349806402006-10-18T19:43:00.000-05:002006-10-18T19:43:00.000-05:00Even if you think, rightly or wrongly, that charit...<I>Even if you think, rightly or wrongly, that charity would be better spent (or should only be spent) in one's own country, who are you to trash those who put their efforts into aiding parts of Africa?</I><BR/><BR/>Someone offended by the shameless publicity Madonna is reaping to further her flagging career. <BR/><BR/>If Madonna were concerned with aiding Africa in its recovery from colonialism, or neo-colonialism, or whatever vogue theory of the week, there are plenty of impoverished slave descendants in her own country. <BR/><BR/>Even ignoring black kids in this country, there are better and easier ways to help Africa or Africans. Madonna could easily have greater impact by becoming a U.N. ambassador like Bono, Nicole Kidman, or Angelina Jolie. <BR/><BR/>The only difference between kidnapping a black kid from Africa and helping one down the block is the lack of publicity -- in other words, profit.<BR/><BR/>We're criticizing the obvious profit-motive and the obvious insincerity of Madonna's actions. What should be obvious to anyone is that this isn't an act of charity, because the benefit to Madonna, by millions of dollars, outweighs the cost of the act. She doesn't care about Africans, or Africa, or black kids, or changing the world.<BR/><BR/>She's a vapid, self-absorbed pop star looking to make a quick buck and willing to exploit black orphans to do it. Criticizing exploitation is a moral obligation.Mortimer Breznyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12388119933763733033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161202168769391032006-10-18T15:09:00.000-05:002006-10-18T15:09:00.000-05:00George,I don't understand your facetious comment: ...George,<BR/>I don't understand your facetious comment: <I>"I'd love to hear a lawyer telling a judge what you've posted above..."Given that the dog's head is nowhere near her genitals and she's still wearing panties" your honor, it's clearly not beastiality..."</I> <BR/><BR/>If someone produced a similar snap of you as a dog lover in your yard in your boxers (that is, not in your Boxers!) - wouldn't you wish your lawyer to argue it wasn't evidence of beastiality?JodyTresidderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13120013949751158490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161195412720911472006-10-18T13:16:00.000-05:002006-10-18T13:16:00.000-05:00The Texas Rules of Evidence provide that a judgmen...The Texas Rules of Evidence provide that a judgment of conviction is admissible in a later proceeding to prove any fact essential to sustain the judgment. <BR/><BR/>Since the judgment has been set aside, the conviction itself is not admissible. Testimony by Lay himself at his criminal trial could be admitted as a hearsay exception at a civil trial since Lay is now unavailable. Testimony at the criminal trial by Lay's underlings or co-conspirators could be admitted at a civil trial as admissions by a party-opponent.<BR/><BR/>A criminal conviction is not a prerequisite to a civil suit by claimants against Lay's estate. The Lays' homestead (a highrise condo) should still be exempt.tjlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12570266434699229746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161191265032601722006-10-18T12:07:00.000-05:002006-10-18T12:07:00.000-05:00"The ruling does nothing to bar the filing of a ci..."The ruling does nothing to bar the filing of a civil action. It simply means that plaintiffs will have to prove Lay's wrongdoing all over again"<BR/><BR/>I know the dismissal knocks out the claim by the feds. As for ex-Enron employees or others who would like to sue, under Texas law do they have to have a conviction, or is proving criminal activity, even in the absence of a conviction, sufficient for a judgement taking homestead property? Does evidence from or derived from Lay's trial exist for purposes of a civil action?Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03594098987699701607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161180061915525002006-10-18T09:01:00.000-05:002006-10-18T09:01:00.000-05:00"For anyone familiar with Texas law, will the orig..."For anyone familiar with Texas law, will the original conviction suffice to let plaintiffs make a legal claim, since the dismissal isn't really an acquittal?"<BR/><BR/>Judge Lake's ruling vacates Lay's conviction and dismisses the indictments against him. The consequences are 1) no criminal forfeiture of Lay's assets and 2) the criminal conduct for which Lay was convicted won't be res judicata in a civil action against the estate. <BR/><BR/>The ruling does nothing to bar the filing of a civil action. It simply means that plaintiffs will have to prove Lay's wrongdoing all over again. <BR/><BR/>As a relic of agrarian times, Texas law is debtor-friendly and protects homestead property from judgment creditors. It also protects your livestock, poultry, and guns, just in case you were looking for other creative ways to thwart your creditors.tjlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12570266434699229746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161178460924577702006-10-18T08:34:00.000-05:002006-10-18T08:34:00.000-05:00Rev-I'm not going to look at the picture you so ki...Rev-<BR/><BR/>I'm not going to look at the picture you so kindly posted a link to. That's the whole point--Madonna is a malignant narcissist, the Kim Jong Il of pop stars. She's a cultural terrorist. She wants to pull everyone down in the gutter with her, and she wants us to look at her wallowing and argue about how dirty (or not) she is.<BR/><BR/>The question is--If you stood up in court during an adoption proceeding and presented evidence that a potential mother had been photographed performing as many bizarre, creepy, depraved, and, yes, blasphemous acts as Madonna, would any U.S. judge give her custody of a child? <BR/><BR/>I'd love to hear a lawyer telling a judge what you've posted above..."Given that the dog's head is nowhere near her genitals and she's still wearing panties" your honor, it's clearly not beastiality, and, your honor, I have a good explanation for the 300 other so-called perverted photographs in the book, too....Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01684438484774689233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161178167571768222006-10-18T08:29:00.000-05:002006-10-18T08:29:00.000-05:00"Now the rich can order their children from Afric..."Now the rich can order their children <BR/>from Africa in three days...just liking getting Omaha Steaks"vegetiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06462445931919741849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161175326547397562006-10-18T07:42:00.000-05:002006-10-18T07:42:00.000-05:00"Anyone who had a claim against Lay can proceed ag..."Anyone who had a claim against Lay can proceed against his estate. A criminal conviction tends to make liability easier to prove, but it certainly isn't necessary"<BR/><BR/>I think what Eli was referring to was that Lay moved all his assets into "homestead" property, and in Texas (whose laws in that realm are unlike any other state) a criminal conviction will be required to get at them.<BR/><BR/>For anyone familiar with Texas law, will the original conviction suffice to let plaintiffs make a legal claim, since the dismissal isn't really an acquittal?Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03594098987699701607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161175242327427232006-10-18T07:40:00.000-05:002006-10-18T07:40:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03594098987699701607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161169346494432562006-10-18T06:02:00.000-05:002006-10-18T06:02:00.000-05:00I suspect the schools don't assign Steinbeck's The...I suspect the schools don't assign Steinbeck's <I>The Pearl</I> anymore.Dervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10238881011249055874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161168989726178982006-10-18T05:56:00.000-05:002006-10-18T05:56:00.000-05:00"Across cultures and civilizations, Yunus and Gram...<I>"Across cultures and civilizations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development," said the Nobel Committee, announcing its Peace Prize.<BR/><BR/>OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Bangladeshi microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their work in advancing economic and social opportunities for the poor, particularly women. The economist and the bank he founded will share the prize. They were cited for their efforts to help "create economic and social development from below" in their home country by using innovative economic programs such as microcredit lending.<BR/></I><BR/>Helping "from below". This man is a true hero. Some of you might look into the lives of children adopted by Hollywood stars in earlier eras, or the fate of people who have won the lottery. It's not all good things the money brings.<BR/><BR/>No matter the education or material goods, a child knowing his loving father, extended family, and his own culture are priceless. You can't discount this, even if you approve of the adoption. I hope the family wishes are honored and David is raised Christian and knowledgeable about Malawi. I also hope he gets to see his biological father often and benefits from the man's influence. <BR/><BR/>I suspect some here are manipulating the facts, not truly acknowledging the father's situation, in order to make Madonna more a hero:<BR/><BR/>"A simple man, he spends his days tending a tiny vegetable garden, caring for a handful of scrawny goats and growing maize, which he sells in local markets. To make extra money he carves wooden handles for hoses, axes and other tools used by subsistence farmers like himself. Around him run ragged children. Everyone here is poor beyond the imagination of most Westerners. <BR/><BR/>Lipunga, the village where he lives has no electricity or lavatories and baths are pits dug on the outskirts of the settlement. Children, clad in rags, are covered in the red dirt that blows over the mountain range from Zambia, their faces smothered with the remains of dried food. <BR/><BR/>There are no obvious signs of hunger, but nor is there any indication that anyone here owns anything of any value. <BR/><BR/>Yohane's 56-year-old mother, Athnet Mwale, explained: "No-one here could take care of David. He needed good milk and nutrition. We are too poor even to properly feed ourselves. <BR/><BR/>"When we sent him away it wasn't because we did not want him. It was because we could not look after him." <BR/><BR/>Now Yohande's younger brother Jeffrey and other family members have written a letter to the orphanage protesting that David could be taken out of the country by a "rich white donor". It pleads that the baby must be brought up "knowing his Malawian culture". <BR/><BR/>Yohane told how David had been in the orphanage since his mother died. The intention was that he would one day return to live at home. <BR/>******<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile Yohane still struggles to come to terms with what he has done. He says he has received no money in connection with the adoption of his child, but there is a sense that this committed Christian, who sang with his late wife in the local church choir, has a niggling suspicion that what has happened is not right. <BR/><BR/>Certainly he has never behaved like a man who willingly abandoned his son. For the past nine months he has visited his son whenever he could - regularly cycling the 25 miles from his home in the village to the orphanage along treacherous dirt and stone tracks more suited to rugged four wheel drive vehicles. <BR/><BR/>He said: "I would bring him food from my garden, then sit and play with him for a while. I wanted him to know that I was his father, that I love him very much. He is my only child still living and I think of him as a gift from God. He is also the best memory I have left of my wife."<BR/>*************<BR/><I>Inter-country adoption is only allowed if the prospective parent can show the child "has broken all ties with their original family. <BR/>But while David's mother died shortly after giving birth, his father Yohame, 32, is alive - as are his extended family, including uncles and grandmother.<BR/><BR/>Malawi rarely allows its children abroad. Total figures for adoption last year: To the US 3 To the UK 0 </I>Dervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10238881011249055874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161155735758705282006-10-18T02:15:00.000-05:002006-10-18T02:15:00.000-05:00think if you listen closely, you're currently hear...<I>think if you listen closely, you're currently hearing the pushback and fairly sharp criticisms that make international adoptions "still a little controversial" too in some circles.</I><BR/><BR/>Boy, you really missed the point, didn't you?<BR/><BR/>And I don't know that international adoptions, in general, are particularly controversial anymore. They happen relatively regularly among non-celebrity types.reader_iamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502616283706105724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161154991197419442006-10-18T02:03:00.000-05:002006-10-18T02:03:00.000-05:00Maxine: Malawi is the second poorest country in th...Maxine: Malawi is the second poorest country in the world. Their problems are a lot worse than ours. Your argument seems to be that, until everything is absolutely perfect in our own country, we should not only do nothing about problems in other countries but actually denounce those who try help developing nations. That seems highly questionable, and the empty accusation of self-righteousness (I'm not personally claiming to have helped anyone at all) doesn't help your cause. Even if you think, rightly or wrongly, that charity would be better spent (or should only be spent) in one's own country, who are you to trash those who put their efforts into aiding parts of Africa?<BR/><BR/>freeman hunt: Exactly. Adopting a child from a country with severe problems--like Malawi--saves them from a future much worse than being a poor orphan here or in Britain.Christopher Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06922264930353357339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161154891745595242006-10-18T02:01:00.000-05:002006-10-18T02:01:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Christopher Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06922264930353357339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161144110304455222006-10-17T23:01:00.000-05:002006-10-17T23:01:00.000-05:00If you can't get it together in your own backyard,...<I>If you can't get it together in your own backyard, how you gonna go fix someone else's?</I><BR/><BR/>Every kid deserves a family, but I would bet that being an orphan in the United States is a much better lot than being an orphan just about anywhere else. I see no problem with people adopting children from developing countries.Freeman Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16202310075717963694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161142880535721162006-10-17T22:41:00.000-05:002006-10-17T22:41:00.000-05:00"When was the last time any of you who are critizi..."When was the last time any of you who are critizing Madonna over this did something for the children of Malawi?" --Christopher <BR/><BR/>Oh my goodness. So self-righteous.<BR/><BR/>We don't need to lift a finger for the children of Malawi, because we have enough problems in our own backyard.<BR/><BR/>That's where the criticism is coming from. Idiots like Madonna who turn a blind eye to the suffering in their midst, and run off to some far-off nightmare thousands-millions of miles away to do not a bit of good, except get some more needless, shameless publicity.<BR/><BR/>Christopher, charity begins at home...not millions of miles away. If you can't get it together in your own backyard, how you gonna go fix someone else's?<BR/><BR/>Billie Holliday: "Back in your own Backyard"---love that song!<BR/><BR/>Peace, MaxineMaxine Weisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18164122931399241972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161134615130548912006-10-17T20:23:00.000-05:002006-10-17T20:23:00.000-05:00What the Lay verdict means is that a lot of people...<I>What the Lay verdict means is that a lot of people who gave Ken Lay years of sweat and hard work and lost everything they had for it, won't even have a claim on his estate. He screwed them real, real hard.</I><BR/><BR/>Anyone who had a claim against Lay can proceed against his estate. A criminal conviction tends to make liability easier to prove, but it certainly isn't necessary.<BR/><BR/>That's not to suggest that there's enough to repay those people.Jim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06625420353177110248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161134227669099122006-10-17T20:17:00.000-05:002006-10-17T20:17:00.000-05:00So there you are in the third world. You have a k...So there you are in the third world. You have a kid. You can't feed him or care for him. It breaks your heart, but you take him to the orphanage and hope that he ends up with a nice family. If not, at least the people at the orphanage will feed him. Later, outrageously wealthy celebrities show up in your country, adopt your child, and wisk him away to live a life of endless opportunity and luxury. The world is now his oyster. Is this not an ideal sort of outcome for the parent who gave up his parental rights?<BR/><BR/>She didn't take him away from his father--his father had already given him up. <BR/><BR/>We can wring our hands over third world adoptions all we want. Meanwhile every kid who gets adopted by a celebrity is winning the lottery.Freeman Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16202310075717963694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161133902361276912006-10-17T20:11:00.000-05:002006-10-17T20:11:00.000-05:00Wesley Snipes has had a few odd news stories in th...Wesley Snipes has had a few odd news stories in the past. Back in 2000, he was in the news for his possible involvement in the <A HREF="http://www.rickross.com/reference/nuwaubians/nuwaubians10.html" REL="nofollow">United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors</A>, a cult based in Georgia.billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731154971054878121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161132696323156152006-10-17T19:51:00.000-05:002006-10-17T19:51:00.000-05:00I agree: The last thing we want is babies raised b...<I>I agree: The last thing we want is babies raised by a person who's had simulated oral sex with a dog and had the photo (or photos) published globally.</I><BR/><BR/>Oh, *that's* what you were talking about. It wasn't clear from your first post -- the wikipedia page mentions quite a few potentially objectionable things. "Simulated oral sex with a dog" is an overwrought way of describing the picture in question, which is <A HREF="http://www.htnet.hr/2003/09/20/0078007.9.jpg" REL="nofollow">here</A>. Given that the dog's head is nowhere near her genitals and she's still wearing panties, it is hard to see how this qualifies as "simulated sex" of any kind, oral or otherwise. I would also suggest that if that picture makes you vomit, you are perhaps more than a bit oversensitive.<BR/><BR/><I>She's a monster.</I><BR/><BR/>Now that's just silly.Revenanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16969961611507743330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161132449297442172006-10-17T19:47:00.000-05:002006-10-17T19:47:00.000-05:00Since I really don't know Madonna's intent , her s...Since I really don't know Madonna's intent , her seriousness in this matter, or what is in her heart, I am not qualified to speak to her specifically. But I do fear that adopting a poor kid from overseas will become a Hollywood trend like adopting a vietnamese potbellied pig was ten years ago. Once the pigs grew up, they weren't as cute or easy to deal with as when they were young. Flighty celebs often get involved in fads like cocaine, Kaballah or AIDS ribbons, but there is little harm when a celeb becomes disinterested in these things. It is beyond obvious that an adoptor needs to be committed for the long haul. <BR/><BR/> There are rumours that Britney wants an impoverished little adopted kid of her own. So maybe Madonna can and will pull this off, but B list celebs may see this as the thing to do and not have the follow through required to raise a kid.Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04769184058674206777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1161130452047077902006-10-17T19:14:00.000-05:002006-10-17T19:14:00.000-05:00The reason I would critisize Madona here (if I wer...The reason I would critisize Madona here (if I were so inclined; I generally feel like I have better things to do with my time), I would say that there are probably many other kids who don't have someone looking out for them in that country who would be better off getting adopted. <BR/><BR/>Of course, there's no accounting for taste; evidently she and the kid really hit it off...however, I question how long it will take for Madona to get bored and move on to a different hobby. I would have rather seen her 'adopt' the boy and his father, moving both closer to her, or moving closer to them, so that she could have a relationship with the kid still, and the kid would be able to be with his father.<BR/><BR/>However, this doesn't seem like anything close to earthshaking importance...<BR/><BR/>and, Dave, where did that quote come from? And where did you come from? Is there any problem with reacting to distastful comments with civility? That is, of course, what separates hicks and bigots from cultured people, at least somewhat. Your concern is appreciated, but if you spoke more eloquently, more people who disagree with you would listen, instead of shutting you out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com